Sedgefield
Sedgefield is a town and civil parish in County Durham, England. It had a population of 5,211 as at the 2011 census. Sedgefield was also known in the area because of Winterton Hospital. This was an isolation hospital and an asylum. The site was like a village itself with its own fire station, bank and cricket team. Today, little trace is left of the hospital, apart from the church, which is now surrounded by the Winterton housing estate and the NETPark Science park. Sedgefield was home to the Tony Blair from 1997 to 2007 and it was replaced by Phil Wilson eventually after that. During November 2003, Sedgefield was visited by the American president George W. Bush during a state visit. He visited a local pub, as well as the local secondary school (Sedgefield Community College). This event was preceded by high-intensity security, which included fastening down manhole covers and drains, and closing the centre of the village to all traffic. An anti-war protest coincided with his visit. NETPark NETPark or North East Technology Park is a science park in Sedgefield, County Durham, England. The park is on the site of the former Winterton Hospital and is home to several high-tech companies specialising in fields such as nanotechnology, X-Ray technology, forensics and semiconductor technology. Since its inception in 2000, NETPark has developed a number of facilities including the NETPark Plexus, NETPark Discovery 1 & 2 and NETPark Explorer buildings. NETPark has strong links with the High Value Manufacturing Catapult through the National Printable Electronics Centre, part of the Centre for Process Innovation. Durham University is also part of the science community, through the NETPark Research Institute which was the first building to be constructed on the site. The demolition of the Victorian hospital buildings was completed in 2001. Ground is broken for NETPark’s first building, the NETPark Research Institute in 2003. In July 2004, the NETPark Research Institute is complete and ready for occupation by advanced research groups from Durham University. Work commences on the construction of the NETPark Incubator. Plans are finalised and approved for Phase 2 of the Incubator in 2007. The Printable Electronics Technology Centre is complete and ready for its complex fit-out. NETPark Net, the virtual science and innovation network, opens for business. March 2018, the new NETPark Explorer building opens. It was officially opened by Stuart Martin, chief executive of the Satellite Applications Catapult, who visit the centre at its base at the North East Technology Park (NETPark). The NETPark Explorer building has already proven to be a success after winning two new tenants, X-ray imaging specialist Ibex and electronics firm PragmatIC, before its official opening. In the Summer of 2018, CK Group, a specialist Scientific recruitment company that has been in the North East since the year 2000 moved into facilities at NETPark. In November 2018, NETPark Incubator was renamed to NETPark Plexus. NETPark Plexus shares its new name with the Plexus sculpture located at the entrance to the Park, commissioned by Arts Council England for NETPark and constructed entirely from inflated metal panels which function as the load-bearing structural elements of the design. The original concept saw the fusion of various themes, including wormholes, grid networks and the representation of movement through time and space.